Job 33:21

Job 33:21 His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones [that] were not seen stick out.

Ver. 21. His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen] He that was habilior paulo, corpulent and well lined within, as we say, is so pined with long sickness, that you can hardly know him for the same man, and he may well cry out with the prophet, My leanness, my leanness! Of Christ it is said (though not through sickness), that he had "no form nor comeliness" (and yet he was the fairest among men, Psa 45:2), through grief and sufferances, "neither was there any beauty left that we should desire him," for his outside, Isa 53:2. And of Mr Fox, the martyrologue, it is reported, that having with infinite pains finished that elaborate work of his, the Acts and Monuments of the Church, in eleven years’ time, never using the help of any other man, he grew thereupon so lean and withered, that his friends knew him not (Mr Clark in his Life). Now if sorrow and hard study will so macerate a man, what marvel if long and sharp sickness, and thereby extreme stomachlessness, cause leanness and deformity?

And his bones that were not seen] But could hardly be felt for flesh and fat; now they stick out as in an anatomy, so that you may count them, as also the veins and sinews; his body is become a very bag of bones, a skin bottle in the smoke, as David hath it.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

His flesh once prominent "can no more be seen." His bones once not seen now appear prominent.

stick out--literally, "are bare." The Margin, Hebrew (Keri) reading. The text (Chetib) reads it a noun "(are become) bareness." The Keri was no doubt an explanatory reading of transcribers.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 21. His flesh is consumed away] As in atrophy, marasmus, and consumptive complaints in general.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen,.... All being gone, none left to be seen, nothing but skin and bones; and this partly through the vehemence of strong pain, and partly through the nausea of food; not being able to take anything for nourishment and the support of the fluids, and so quite emaciated:

and his bones that were not seen stick out: which before were covered with flesh and fat, so that they could not be seen; but now the flesh and fat being wasted, they seem as if they rose up in an eminence, and stood out to be beheld; this was also Job's case, being reduced to a mere skeleton, Job 19:20. Elihu, in this description of an afflicted man, seems to have Job chiefly in view, and by this would intimate to him that God had been, and was speaking to him by those afflictions, which he would do well to advert unto.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen - He wastes away. His flesh, once vigorous, beautiful, and fair, now disappears. This is not a mere description of the nature of his sickness, but it is a description of the disciplinary arrangements of God. It is an important part of his affliction, as a part of the discipline, that his flesh vanishes, and that his appearance is so changed that he becomes repulsive to the view.

And his bones that were not seen, stick out - His bones were before invisible. They were carefully concealed by the rounded muscle, and by the fat which filled up the interstices, so that they were not offensive to the view. But now the protuberances of his bones can be seen, for God has reduced him to the condition of a skeleton. This is one of the common effects of disease, and this shows the strength of the discipline which God contemplates. The parts of the human frame which in health are carefully hid from the view, as being unsightly, become now prominent, and can be hidden no longer. One design is to humble us; to take away the pride which delighted in the round and polished limb, the rose on the cheek, the ruby lip, and the smooth forehead; and to show us what we shall soon be in the grave.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Bare. The skin will scarcely cover them. He will appear ghastly, like a skeleton. (Calmet) --- Hebrew, "his bones....shall stick out." (Protestants) (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

His flesh is consumed away, through pain and pining sickness.

That it cannot be seen; because there is none left to be seen; but he who before was fat and flourishing, is now become a mere skeleton.

That were not seen, formerly, because they were covered with flesh and fat. But this clause, is and may be rendered thus, and his bones are broken, and are not seen; which is to be metaphorically understood.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

21. Bones that were not seen — “Wasted are his bones, they no more are seen” — thus the Kethib.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; literally, from the sight; but the Authorized Version gives probably the correct meaning. And his bones that were not seen stick out. These are general features of a wasting illness. (comp. Psa_22:17, "I may tell all my bones Such illness gives the sufferer time to review thoroughly his life and cow duct, and see to it "if there be any way of wickedness in him," or any particular form of sin to which he is tempted.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Elihu continues speaking to Job.

His flesh is consumed away so that it cannot be seen; his bones, once not seen, now stick out

This can be stated in active form. "His flesh" refers to his fat and muscles, not to his body's outer skin. AT: "Disease makes his body weak and thin so that a person can see his bones" (See: Active or Passive)

his soul draws close to the pit

Here a person is represented by his "soul." AT: "he is close to going into the grave" (See: Synecdoche)

the pit

The place where people go when they die is referred to here as "the pit." AT: "the place where dead people are" (See: Metaphor)

his life to those who wish to destroy it

Here the person is represented by his "life." The phrase "those who wish to destroy it" refers to the place where people go after they die. AT: "and he is close to going to the place where dead people go" or "and he will soon go to the place of the dead" (See: Synecdoche and Metonymy)

translationWords

flesh

consume

soul

pit

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

His flesh is consumed from sight Heb. יכל בשרו מראי, His flesh is withdrawn from sight, like (Lam 2:11): “My eyes are spent (כלו) with tears”; (Lev. 26:16), “that cause the eyes to pine way (מכלות).

and his bones are dislocated Heb. ושפו. They are dislocated from their place. [The word] שֻׁפּוּ is like (Hullin 42b), “that sprung (שף) from its place.”

to unsightliness They have neither appearance nor form.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.